In Uncanny X-Men #9, things are getting crazier as the X-Men attempt to battle Nate Grey, aka X-Man, who has taken over Legion’s body. Legion had trapped Grey and some of the younger X-Men in a version of the Age of Apocalypse in his mind. With the young X-Men freed that left Grey pissed and in a strong position.

The concept of X-Man taking over Legion’s body is an interesting one, creating an Omega level mutant squared. Writers Matthew Rosenberg, Kelly Thompson, and Ed Brisson have delivered a cool concept in this issue. But, that concept also falls apart when you think about it.

Grey is pissed. The X-Men were willing to sacrifice kids to stop him. He sees them as rejecting the paradise he’s creating. This is not a bad thing and gives him some solid rage but, with so much power his attack is rather lame. Legion can rewrite reality. Nate is one of the most, if not the most, powerful telepaths on the planet. The combo should be able to rewrite existence in a second but he chooses not to. One can only conclude it’s either Legion fighting back or an attempt to ratchet up the action and drama.

And it’s most likely the latter as a lot of reinforcements are called in. There’s a one page spread of a hell of a lot of characters both known and some less known. This is setting up the ultimate showdown leading to whatever is next.

With so much action and so many characters thrown in, I wish I could say the art makes this a must have but overall, it’s just so-so. There’s nothing particularly bad about the art, it’s just not quite the quality we’ve seen from others on this series. The weekly timeline has hurt things when it comes to that. Yildiray Cinar handles the art with Rachelle Rosenberg on color and Joe Caramagna on lettering and it’s ok. There are some great moments, an example is Armor using her power in a new and interesting way. Visually it’s great. But, you can see where things get ho-hum in that last page spread of the reinforcements. The framing of the panel with so much space is questioning and there’s just an outright lack of details in some ways.

This issue has me excited to see what happens next but also has me trying not to think about it too much. There’s some summer movie popcorn moments delivered but it’s essentially one giant fight scene with little else. My teenage self would have loved that but the adult me wants a bit more from my reading. The ok visuals don’t help matters either. While it’s not a bad issue at all, a fine addition to the overall story, it also isn’t one that you’ll likely feel satisfied with on its own. It’s a piece of the larger puzzle in which case it passes but on its own, that’s a debatable grade.

Story: Matthew Rosenberg, Kelly Thompson, Ed Brisson
Art: Yildiray Cinar Color: Rachelle Rosenberg Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Story: 6.75 Art: 7.0 Overall: 6.85 Recommendation: Read

Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review